Push catch for doors



sept. 25, 192s. 1,685,508

Patented Sept. 25, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFF-ICE.

THOMAS F. STUART AND HENRY A. MOORE, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

PUSH CATCH FOR DOORS.

Application filed March 30, 1927. Serial No. 179,418.

Our invention relates to a Vpush catchor doors, hinged panels, windowsand the like, and has for its principal objects the provision of arelatively simple, practical and i easily installed .latching devicethat automatically ymoves into latching position when the door or panelto which it is applied is closed and which latching device is releasedby the actuation of a push rod; toY provide a latching device of thecharacter referred to that may be advantageously used on single ordouble doors, either plain or rabbeted; and further, to provide a latchthat may be applied to a door or the like so as to engage or catcheitherbeneath or on top of'a shelf behind the door or against the jambor frame that surrounds the door or swinging structure.

.Further objects? of our invention are to provide a doorrlatchingdevice' that may be readily adjustablein order that it may be easily andquickly installed on doors of different thicknesses; further, to providea latch ofthe character referred to that may receive plain or ornamentalknobs of wood, glass, metal, porcelain, or the like; and further,toprovide alatch that requires the boring of only one small holeI throughthe door or 'other 'ging member to which swin the latch is applied. l

With the foregoing and other objects in view, our invention consists in`certain novel featuresV of construction and arrangement of parts thatwill hereinafter be vmore fully described and claimed and illustrated inthe accompanying drawing, inpwhichig. 1 Iis an elevational viewlooking'` against the inner face of a dooror swinging panel and showingour improved latch in position for use.

ig. 2 is a lvertical sectiontaken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal section' taken on the line 3 3 of Fig.1.' l

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross section taken on the line 4`4'o'f Fig. l.v YFigo is a horizontal section taken on the line 5-.5 ofFig. 4. v

Fig. 6 isa horizontal line 646 of Fig.'5. v l Fig, 7 is a perspectiveview of the spring pressed bolt that forms a part Of .Our i111- provedlatch.

section taken on the Y Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a member thatiscarried by the push'rod of the latch and which is utilized for shiftingthe latching bolt actuating lever. n

Referring by numerals to the accompany-- ing drawings,` whichyillustrate .a practical embodiment of our invention, 10 designates a boxlike housing that is preferably stamped or pressed from suitable sheetmetal and the top of said housing being closed by a removable plate 11.n' Formed integral with and projecting outwardly from the rear wall ofhousing 10, is a tubular stem 12l that is externally threaded in orderto receive the internally threaded inner end portion 13 of a knobsupporting tube 14 and which latter is rovided atits outer end with a,flange 15.

` en the latch housing is applied to ai door or swinging structure, suchas D, the latter is provided with an aperture 16 that receives thethreaded stem 12 and the inner portion of knob lsu porting member 14.

A knob K of g ass,.porcelain, wood, or metal, is carried by tubularmember 15 and,

'when the latter is screwed onto Athe tubular stem 12, said knob isfirmly clamped between flange 15 and the outer face of door D. Inasmuchas tubular member 14 may be screwed inwardly or outwardly upon stem 12,knobsof diiferent lengths may be acn commodated by said tubular member.

Extending through tubular member 14 and stem 12 isa push rod 17 providedon its outer end with a head or disk 18 and the inner end portion ofsaid pushrod, or that portion that passes through vhousing `10, isthreaded as designated byl 19. f The front wall of housing 10 isprovided with an aperture 2O for the accommodation of the inner. end ofthe push f YYArranged for longitudinal sliding movement within housing10, is a latching b olt comprising a straight body portion 21, with oneend of which; isformed integral a block 22 having a beveled outer face23. This block 23V is arranged to slidefreely through a rectangularopening-24 that is formed in one of the end walls of housinglO. Whenblock 23 is in its normal position, that 1s, projecting from housing 10,and the door to which the latch is applied is closed, said block engagesbehind a keeper or latch plat-e posed inner edge 27 and said plate 26occu-,

pies a plane just below that occupied by the body of the bolt. Plate 26andthe end of the bolt to which it is connected are arranged to slide'Vfreely through an opening 2S that isforined iii the corresponding end ofhousing 10.

Formed integral with the intermediate portion of bolt 21, is the lowerportion of an L-shaped the upper end thereof' toward the end of ihousing' 10 above opening 28.

the housing that is provided with the opening 28, is a-finger 30.Mounted on this finger, is one end of an expansive coil spring 31, theopposite end of which is supported by a pin 32 that projects from theend of Under the n influence of this Vspring 31, the latcliing bolt Aangularly disposed edge 27 of plate 26,

is norinally'held within thehousing so thatv block 22 projects throughopening 2a and beyond the corresponding end off the housing.

Seated in the bottoni of housing 10 is a pin- 33 and fulcrum'ed thereonisa short lever 34:,Yone -end of which bears against the and theopposite end of Vsaid lever terminates receives the threaded Vportion 19of ata point below that portion of push rod 17 that passes throughhousing 10.. Thev lower horizontally disposed portion of arm V29overlies the intermediate portion Vof the lever 34 and thus the latterisalways retained in proper position upon the bottom of the housing 10." lY The vertical webof a. C-shaped plate 35 is provided with a threadedaperture 36'that rod and depending from the Vlower horizontalarm lofsaid C-shaped plate, is a lip 37, against which the corresponding end oflever 34: engages. Formed in the upper horizontally disposed Vportion ofplate :35, is a threaded aperture 38 vthat receives a set screw 39 andwhich latter, when tightened,

bears against the threaded" portion of theV pushrod and locks plate 35inits adjusted position thereupon. vThe upper portion of `the'qloclringscrew 39 projects through a transversely disposed slot '40 that isformed in top p late 11. j

:Housing 10 may be secured to the inner face` of a door or swingingstructure in any suitable 'mannen preferably by .means of screws 10Lthat pass through perforated ears -1,0"that project from the walls ofsaid housing. A y When a. door equipped withour Vimproved latch isclosed,"the pressure of spring 31 rearm 29 and projecting fromthe push21 at its limit of movement in one direction within housing 10 and withblock 22 projecting from said housing and positioned behind the catchplate 25, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3; Y

To release the catch and open the door, knob K isv engaged Y andpressure of the thumb or finger is applied to head 18 of push rodf17 vAsthe push rod is moved inward, the depending lip 37 on member 35 pushesoutwardly against one end of lever 34, thereby swinging said lever onits fulcrum 33 and, as aresult, the opposite end of said lever bearsagainst thev inclined edge tains bolt 27 of plate 26, consequentlymoving bolt 21 lengthwise through the housing 10 against the resistanceloffered by spring 31. As bolt 21 is thus moved,`bl oclrl 22 is drawninto the housing 10 until the outer endof said block clears the end ofcatch plate 25 and the door may now be opened.

As soon as thepressure on head 18 lis yrelieved, spring 31 will act torestore the actuating parts of the latch to their normal positions, asillustrated in Fig. 3, and when the door is again closed, the beveledface 23 on block 22 will strike againstV the latch plate 25, thus movingthe locking bolt lengthwise through the housing 10 until the end ofblock 22 passes the latching' plate,- whereupon tlie pressure of spring31 will move said bolt so that the blocky 22 is re-engaged behind thelatcliing plate. Y g

The latching boltv 21 is retained in proper position within the housingand is prevented from tilting or ca-nting by the block 22 and plate 26,which occupy Vand move through apertures in the end walls yof thehousing andlever 34 is retained in proper operative position, due to thefact that it occupies a position beneath'y the latching bolt 21 and thelower portionof the L-shaped arm 29.

Thus it will be seen that we ,have provided a push catch'for doorsthatis relatively* simple in construction,inexpensive Vof manufacture,capable of being easily and quickly assembled and applied for use andwhich isV very effective in" performing the functions for which it isintended.

It will be 4understood'that minor changes in the size, form andconstruction of the various parts of our improved push catch for doorsmay be made and substituted for those herein shown and described'withoutdeparting froml the spirit of our invention, the scope of which is setforth in the appended claims.

We claim as our invention;V

:1.A push catch for 'doors-y comprising a housing, a spring heldlatching bolt arranged for sliding movement; therethrough, the outer endportion of which latchingbolt projects through an opening'fin one end ofsaid housing, the inner end portion of said clined face, a leverfulcrumed within vthe housing with one end bearing against said inclinedface, a push rod mounted for movement through the housing in a plane atright angles to the plane occupied by the latching bolt and a memberadjustably mounted on said push rod and bearing on the end of said leveropposite the end that engages the inclined face on the latching bolt.

2. In a push catch for doors, a housing, a latching bolt arranged forsliding movement lengthwise within said housing, one end of whichlatching bolt normally projects from said housing, the opposite end ofsaid latching bolt having an inclined face, a lever fulcrumed within thehousing with one end normally bearing on the inclined face of thelatching bolt, a push rod mounted to move through the housing at rightangles to the plane occupied by said latching bolt, a member adjustablymounted on said push rod within said housing for engaging said leverwhen said push rod is actuated and mea-ns for locking said lastmentioned member vin its adjusted position on said push rod.

3. In a push catch for doors, a housing adapted to be positioned on theof a door, a spring held latching bolt arranged to slide lengthwisethrough said housing and provided 0n its inner end with an inclinedface, a latching bolt aetuating lever fulcrumed within said housing, oneend of which lever bears on the inclined face of said latching bolt, abracket on said bolt, a spring arranged between said bracket and .thehousing for yieldingly resisting inward movement of said bolt, a pushrod arranged for operation in a plane at right angles to said housingand the latching bolt therein, which push rod passes through saidhousing and a member carried by said push rod for engaging said latchingbolt actuating lever.

In testimony whereof we aiix our signatures.

THOMAS F. STUART. HENRY A. MOORE.

inner face

